Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between senior applications engineers and senior quality assurance engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a senior applications engineer, becoming a senior quality assurance engineer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a senior applications engineer has an average salary of $107,989, which is higher than the $106,802 average annual salary of a senior quality assurance engineer.
The top three skills for a senior applications engineer include java, C++ and database. The most important skills for a senior quality assurance engineer are QA, java, and python.
| Senior Applications Engineer | Senior Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $107,989 | $106,802 |
| Hourly rate | $51.92 | $51.35 |
| Growth rate | 2% | - |
| Number of jobs | 274,466 | 254,258 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 41 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A senior applications engineer specializes in designing and developing a variety of applications and systems, ensuring quality and efficiency. Their responsibilities typically revolve around utilizing feedback and client needs when making decisions, creating test structures for applications, performing installment and repairs, troubleshooting, and performing regular maintenance checks and upgrades. Furthermore, as a senior applications engineer, it is essential to lead and encourage the engineering team to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
A senior quality assurance engineer oversees the testing procedures conducted in software development, ensuring technical accuracy and efficiency. They are primarily responsible for working alongside software designers and quality engineers, reviewing quality control reports, inspecting specifications, and devising particular test procedures. Moreover, it is also essential to troubleshoot issues and identify any inconsistencies or bugs. As someone with more experience in the team, they must supervise and serve as a mentor to the younger quality assurance engineers in the joint effort to develop efficient software.
Senior applications engineers and senior quality assurance engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Applications Engineer | Senior Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Average salary | $107,989 | $106,802 |
| Salary range | Between $84,000 And $138,000 | Between $82,000 And $138,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Netflix | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Insurance | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a senior applications engineer and a senior quality assurance engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Applications Engineer | Senior Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between senior applications engineers' and senior quality assurance engineers' demographics:
| Senior Applications Engineer | Senior Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Average age | 41 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.9% Female, 11.1% | Male, 68.0% Female, 32.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.1% White, 67.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 11% |